"Washington continues to claim that its Ukrainian puppets allegedly have nothing to do with the bomb. US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price rejected Russia’s statements and moved to shift responsibility in his department’s favorite manner. <…> If Ukrainian instigators blow up a nuclear device, its consequences will one way or another impact the US and the entire world, too," Chairman of the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky wrote on Telegram, according to local Russian media.
The lawmaker pointed out that Russia had warned the international community about a possible catastrophe and "is making every possible effort to prevent it." "In this case, attempts to find excuses, shrug the issue off and shift the blame are putting the West on par with the Kyiv-based nuclear terrorists," Slutsky emphasized.
Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov told a news briefing on Monday that the Defense Ministry had put its forces and resources in a state of readiness for action "in a situation of radioactive contamination" based on intel about Kyiv’s plot for using a "dirty" nuclear bomb. The "dirty bomb" threat was also mentioned by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said that Moscow intended to bring up Kyiv’s attempts to create such weapons at the United Nations. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu earlier held phone talks with his counterparts from the United States, Great Britain, Turkey and France, warning them about the "dirty bomb" threat emanating from Ukraine. However, Washington, London, and Paris dismissed Russia’s warnings, TASS reported.
MP/PR